The Effects of Social Ties and Local Environment on Appropriate Waste Station Maintenance of Household Waste : A Case Study in SapporoThe Effects of Social Ties and Local Environment on Appropriate Waste Station Maintenance of Household Waste : A Case Study in Sapporo

“Waste stations”, where residents dispose of household waste, are usually maintained by the residents themselves; however, not all stations are well maintained. It was hypothesized that the level of waste station maintenance would correlate with the degree of social ties in the community, and would be influenced by local environment in the area around the waste station. A combination of observational and survey research methods were employed to test these hypotheses. Self-reported inappropriate disposal behavior and social ties were measured using a questionnaire survey, while the level of maintenance of waste stations and local surrounding environment were recorded using observational methods. Data from 508 residents, assigned to 102 waste stations in 23 local areas of Sapporo, Japan, were analyzed. Sequential regression analysis indicated that social ties in the community was the stronger predictor of the management level of waste station than the self-report disposal behavior. Furthermore, multi-level model tests revealed that the level of management of waste stations was predicted by the local surrounding environment, which provided spatial reminders of community interactions. This indicates that managing the local surrounding environment is an important intervention to encourage appropriate waste station management.